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How to Start as a Total Beginner in Action Sports

Watching lots of videos, and now you want to get involved? This article will give you the lowdown

If you’ve never participated in action sports before, and you’re interest in doing so, then it can be quite an intimidating prospect. For starters, you’ll be starting at a beginner’s level of ability, and you’ll probably need coaching to improve. Additionally there is quite an extraordinary range of different equipment available – what do you need? Do you even need to buy your own? But you’ve got to start somewhere. This article is about how to get started out in action sports.

Don’t Buy All the Gear First

If you’re going on a snowboarding holiday for the first time, having never snowboarded, but you don’t yet have a board, then it’s not recommended that you go and buy one straight away. For such a holiday, of course you’ll need some ski or snowboard gear like a jacket, gloves and salopettes, but getting your own boots and board isn’t necessary since you can easily rent.

Why buy as a beginner when you can rent? Image courtesy: Tignes-spirit.net

The point is that having never been before, you won’t have much idea of whether the sport is really for you, or that you’ll ever start wanting to go regularly. If you enjoy your first week on the slopes, and you’re sure about going back, then it’s probably the right time to invest in your own equipment.

Ask Questions on Forums

If your friends aren’t already into action sports, then you’re not going to have that useful soundboard for discussion and advice, and you’ll need to find another source. Of course, you can use How To videos to help you with technique, but for more specific advice the most straightforward source is to go onto a forum or Facebook Page and ask questions.

Want to learn to skate? Might want to head to the Sidewalk forums.

Plenty of experienced people are happy to give out advice on ‘new to sport’ style threads. Just if you ever get any negative responses, ignore them. It’s easy to get hung up on Internet comments that don’t matter.

Join a Club

You might want to get into action sports for the travel and holidaying, but being half decent when you’re actually away can make the trip all the more enjoyable. For this you’ll need to practice of course, and the best way to practice is with likeminded people who can mentor you. Sure, your friends might be able to help you if they participate, but you’re far more likely to meet people with a broader range of skills through joining a club.

There’s also a range of social aspects that joining a club can bring, as well as group travel activities. You might want to ask your forum where the nearest and best clubs for you are, but if you’re not too sure, just head to Google and then get in touch with the clubs directly.

Want to find a club? Just search for your given sport in a particular area.

Make Practice a Regularity

If you want to steadily improve, then participating regularly is vital. To do this, it’s recommended that you set aside a particular evening or one day a weekend or month to take part, and make this a regular thing. For instance ‘I go riding every Thursday’ is better than saying ‘I go riding once a week.’ Often we can kid ourselves about how much we’ve actually done things, but if you have a set day during the week, then it’s easier to stick to.